Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 47, Number 18, Decatur, Adams County, 22 January 1949 — Page 1

XLVII. No. 18.

PEIPING IS SURRENDERED TO COMMUNISTS

Sary Truman ■epares For aiet Weekend ftaugural Social Ends In Washington - HQKsliington. Jan. 22.—(UP)— President Truman settled for a quiet weekend today the hectic festivities of inweek. inaugural social schedule over, the President and : Bnmediate family had no plans to enjoy a simple home visit witl relatives and friends here Missouri. ■. and Mrs. Truman and daughmade their last major appearance of inauguration night when they attended aßeption of the Kentucky st;> L e in honor of vice-president ■r W. Barkley. time before. **>? Presidropped into a postreception given by Sen. McGrath. He said there thßhe would do everything pusgHto push forward his legislative because the Democratic jKorm "was not just a scrap of Truman's voice seemed a tK tired at the Barkley recephe was in excellent spirits. ißaid he and his running mate a "wonderful" inagu"l,ut lnl " comes only every four years." ■oking at the crowded ShoreMB laughingly that "it looks like hole of Kentucky has moved B was lavish in his praise of whom, he said, “has the for that job (the vice (B|dency) or any other one with’-' gift of the people." ■ ■ not "'ink "> e United States whole of its history ever < I ,res id ent and vice president more congenial." he add■rrounded by so many Kenincluding chief justice J i Vinson and associate jusStanley Reed. Mr. Truman d at people who talk "about gang hanging around have to push them out to Me room for the Kentucky gang." Muipped. B"'kley was in story telling He recalled how Mr. Truw *'en they served in the sen- * “got the habit of call- \ 'boss.' still does when Mrs. Tru--|B| is not around." he said, "and to hold him to it." H'he President and I had a time these last few )■(■,” Barkley said. "And we are four years, working for Program on which we were White House staff said the lident had nothing scheduled today, but that this did not pree some last-minute engagement I possible overnight rest aboard (White House yacht. tholic Schools ill Close Monday ie Decatur Ca*hnlic hitrit and St. iph's grade schools will be closMonday in observance of the t of St. Agnes, patron of the ir of Sisters of St. Agnes, teacnin the schools. Classes will be (ended for the day. The feast |rred Friday, but the observance be held -Monday in all schools [ht by the St Agnes Sisters. cal Lady's Brother is Os Heart Attack rs Jesse W. Rice today receiv*ord of the death of Kile Rowi of Fairmont, 111., brother of - A. Leigh Bowen of this city, r. Rowand was a rural mail der He wak in the act of placa letter in a mail box when ed by a heart attack and died tis car. Mrs. Bowen flew from Petersburg, Fla., to attend her Ser's funeral. WEATHER Partly cloudy north, cloudy tuth, colder today and tonight, omorrow mostly cloudy, frees>9 drizzle changing to freerig rain south and snow north te tomorrow. High today 34 ) 38 extreme south to 25 to 30 »rth. Low tonight Zero to 10 tove north to 20 to 25 south.

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Three Chicago Fires Kill Three Persons Separate Fires In Chicago Area Today Chicago, Jan. 22 — (UP) — Three persons were killed, at least 10 others injured, and more than $500,000 worth of property destroyed in separate fires that struck an apartment house, a residence and a factory in the Chicago area early today. The apartment house fire was the latest of tihe series. It broke out at dawn and spread quickly to threealarm status. Witnesses said three or four of the negro occupants jumped out windows to escape the flames. First reports said "about 25 persons" were hurt. All hospitals in the vicinity were alerted to receive casual'ies and 12 patrol wagons were dispatched for ambulance duty. Police Capt. John Walsh said six adults and four children were taken to Providence hospital. Firemen said the building's original six flats had been cut up into one room apartments crea'ing a crowded tenement. They feared that residents of basement apartments, where the fire started, may have died in the flames. Police and firemen plunged into the flames repeatedly to rescue persons who became confused and lost their way on stairways and in corridors. Earlier this morning three persons were killed by a fire that destroyed their old two-story Nome in Chicago's back-of-the yards district. The dead were Anthony Mica, 68, -Michael Lekostej, 75, and his wife, Rose, 75. Passersby discovered the fire ani turned in an alarm. The house was. half consumed by the time firemen "arrived. Mica and Mrs. Lekostej were found near the doorways of their flats indicating they died try--1 ing to escape. The property loss was estimated at $1,500. Firemen said the fire started in the basement, possibly from an overheated stove or flue, and spread upward through the Lekostej apartment on the first floor to where Mica lived with his wife and son on the second story. Mrs. Mica and the son were away at the time. At 2 a.m. today, firemen finally i brought under control a spectacular blaze that destroyed the plant of the Cranberry Cannc-rs Inc., in the heart of the business district at suburban North Chicago. [ .Estima'es of the property loss ranged from $500,00(1 to $1,000,000 but -firemen managed to save most of 14 carloads of sugai that had just been delivered to the factory. Fire companies from Waukegan. 111., (and the Great Lakes naval base aided in bringing the fire under control Motorists Attempt Numerous Tricks To Fool Parking Meters If Dwight R. Arnold, special police officer, has become depressed about human nature, he can blame it on his job. Assigned to maintain Decatur's 5 new parking meters, he has taken in one washer, two slugs, half a dozen toothpicks or wooden matches, and'two car keys. One auto owner, a Decatur mer-, chant, was caught in the act as he tried to insert his key, trip the timing mechanism, then remove the key with'a free hour's time. When he noticed the police looking over his shoulder, he laughed and said someone had apparently placed a car key in the meter and he was trying to take it out. It was stuck, and officer Arnold removed it with his special tools.! The merchant sheepishly identified the key as his own. and inserted a penny. ■ , The most fiendish idea was that of a driver who filed a strip of aluminum into a long shaft with a circle resembling a nickel at one end He must have figured it would give him parking time for ever and a day. bv slipping it into the coin slot, making the hand register an hour, then removing it. But the super-slug backfired. Not onlv did it fail to give the driver illegal parking time, but It could not be removed except by dismantling the meter. Officer Arnold is convinced that rou can't fool the meters, but he's as firmly certain that motorists 1 will never stop trying.

Capitol Groundkeepers Face “Morning After”

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GROUNDKEEPERS at the nation's Capitol face a huge task cleaning the tons of rubbish left by the more than 135,000 persons who witnessed the inauguration of President Truman and Vice-President Barkley. *

Membership Drive By Decatur C. C. One-Day Drive Is Planned Wednesday A one-day drive designed to swell the membership rolls of the Decatur Chamber of Commerce will be conducted next Wednesday, I it was announced today by Earl Caston and Wilbur Petrie, C. of C. directors, who are supervising the campaign. Goal of the membership drive will be the addition of 50 new recruits to the Chamber’s personnel. Forty-one Chamber members will be divided into two teams, competing against each for the greatest number of new members signed up. Each participating member will be assigned three prospects. The one-day campaign follows the affirmation by newly-installed C. of C. president Glenn Hill that "a strong Chamber of Commerce needs the support of all in the 1 community.” Members of the team under the direction of Mr. Caston are R. J. Holthouse, Harold Grant, Roger Kelly, William Gass, Robert Lane, H. O. Burgett, Robert Yost, Robert Macklin. T. J. Metzler, Clyde Butler, Carl Pumphrey, Paul Strickler. Clarence Ziner, Dr. J. E. Morris, Ron Parrish, Milton Swearingen, L. R. Zintsmaster, Joe Kelley, Louis Browarsky, Jack Holthouse, Fred Schulte and K. H. Runyon. 4 Mr. Petrie's team consists of H. H. Krueckeberg, Laurence Anspaugh, Carl Gerber, Virgil Doyle. Glen Oswalt. M. P. Cass, Ben Webster. Al Riehle. Paul Courad, F. Ellsworth, Carl Striker, Robert , Biting. Don Lutes. Robert Zwick, Robert Ashbaucher, Malcolm Locke. Dick South, John DeVoss and O. G. Penny. New Storms Sweep Rocky Mountains Battle Underway To Save Million Cattle By I’ni'ed Press New snow storms swept through I the Rocky Mountains today as a fold wave pushed temperatures below zero in much of the midwest and a rainstorm swept up the Atlantic coast from the Gulf of Mexico to New England. Forecasters said the snow in the mountains would reach its full fury by tomorrow. Federal and state governments were waging a battle to save almost 1.000.000 cattle and sheep marooned without feed in the deep snow covering the west from the Canadian border to Nevada. A wave of bitterly cold air seepsd south from the Canadian border and the weatner bureau said tempera’ures would drop to 15 below zero as far south as Missouri. Kansas and Oklahoma. The mer cury was expected to Mt 30 below in northwestern Minnesota and the Dakotas. A Chicago weather expert said the cold wave was “merely a new surge from the same frigid spell (Tara Te Page Six)

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Saturday, January 22, 1949

New Police Patrol Car In Operation A sleek, black 1949 Plymouth business coupe was put into service Friday night by the Decatur police department. Large gold stars are painted on the sides of the doors and an oscillating red light is mounted on the roof. The sirens are benealh the hood. (Equipment was transferred front police department's old patrol car yesterday at Macklin’s garage, where the six-passenger Plymouth was purchased. The car is equipped with two-way FM radio. Little Accomplished By Stale Assembly Parties Far Apart On Major Measures Indianapolis, Jan. 22 — (UP) — A veteran Democratic legislator said today there won’t be many laws passed If the remainder of the 86th genet.d assembly followed the pa tern laid down during the first quarter just ended. He predicted tho Democratic house and the Republican senate might never get together on major issues. "There’s a good chance that not much, if any, legislation, is going to come out of this session,” the lawmaker said. There were others in both parties who agreed with him. Dramatically illustra'ing this contention was the status ot veterans’ bonus legislation. When the gavel fell for weekend adjournment in both houses yesterday. there was nothing approaching an agreement over how to pay the bonus. Most of the Democrats stuck doggedly to some form of gross income tax increase. A majority of Republicans favored a sales tax. “Both parties have their own bills introduced,” said a lawmaker. ‘ When they meet in committee sessions, there will be very little common ground to start a compromise." When the session opened, both parties issued statements pledging cooperation on legislation "for the good of the state." “But during the first few weeks, everybody has just been jockeying for position. Time's going by fast. Those last few days of the assembly are going to be hectic,” said a representative “And a lot of things are going to get caught in he jam." Up to now, west of the sessions have been confined to brief meetings for routine business and introduction of bills. A total of 23 bills have been introduced in both housi es. They are beginning to filter through committees #nd back onto the floor for amendments and attempts to stop or push them on through. When they begin to "o* in a steady stream out of cotomittee the legislature will begin to hold afternoon sessions. The same legislator who predicted there won’t be any laws said "if Iwe don't get more accomplished, it’s our own fault.”

Two Bluffton Men : Sought By Police I Two Men Beaten, Lodge Is Robbed Police today were searching tor t two Bluffion men, one a parolee, ■ who robbed the Eagles lodge in that city this morning, beat and ! bound its custodian, and forced a I Wells county farmer to drive them to Marion. Bluffton police refused to reveal the identity of the armed robbers. Ernest Cupp, custodian of the Eagles lodge, was severely .beaten at 4 am. and the clubroom was robbed of more than S2OO. Cupp said the men tied him up after the attack and left him for dead. He was being treated for a possible fractured skull at Clinic hospital, Bluffton. Thereafter, the robbers stole a , pickup truck and made their way , south, but wrecked the getaway ve ( hide one and one-half miles from , Bluffton. They forced Jess Easterday, a farmer, to drive them to MarI ion. When Eas erday resisted they , cracked him across the nose and , head, and physicians said he too may have suffered a fractured skull. Easterday drove them to the east- , ern outskirts of Marion, where the j robbers dismounted, ordering him to re urn to his home without stopping. He obeyed. From his hospital bed Cupp, the . lodge custodian, identified the men I and Bluffton police radioed an alert . to .Marion authorities. All reports I said the fugi ives were armed. The hunted men are known to , have operated throughout north--1 eastern Indiana, authorities said. I I Stale Legion Head lashes VA Policy Hospital Facilities > Shortage Charged r ! , Indianapolis, Jan. 22.—(VP)— The Indiana department of the American Legion charged today that at least 25 World War II vet- ’ erans were in jail because the Veterans' Administration didn't furnish enough hospital facilities to meet the demand. . r I Commander Joseph F. Lutes 1 blamed a “shortsighted policy" of the V’A for what he termed "an ap--1 palling Indiana situation.'* Lutes said Billings hospital here ■ was “jammed to overflowing" with i neuro-psychiatric cases. "There are many cases awaiting admission.” he added “At least r 25 of them are in jails because > there is no other place fur them It . Is a disgrace." t Lutes said there was not only a , shortage of beds in neuro-psychiat- , ric wards but also a “shocking I shortage of doctors.” “There should be one doctor for every 15 NP cases." he said. “At ’ Billines general hospital there is one doctor to look after 100." Lutes said he was told there tTara Te Pag* s,l >

Nationalist Government Steps Up Drive To End Three-Year Civil War

Congress Split On Effect Os Chiang Retirement Upon Foreign Policies Washington, Jan. 22 — (UP) — Congressional opinion appeared sharply divided along party lines today on the effect of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek’s 'retirement' upon American foreign policy. Democrats generally believed that Chiang’s action did not mean the end of the Chinese government’s fight against communist forces. Republicans, on the other hand, bitterly assailed the administration for failing to bolster the ChTang regime. They said the generalissimo's retirement was a heavy blow to the campaign to keep China from going communist. The congressional split posed an early problem for Dean Acheson, the new secretary of state who was sworn in only yesterday. Some quarters believed that, if allowed to spread, the division could jeopardize already-strained bipartisan foreign policy cooperation. The state department has maintained a strict “hands-off" policy toward China. It had no official comment on Chiang's flight. Chairman Sol Bloom, D., N. Y.. of the house foreign affairs committee said he would favor all-out aid to non-communist China if a “strong leader" is named to lead the nationalist forces. ‘ China is not licked, yet,” Bloom asserted. “She has lost ground and has lost some important battles, but it is not too late to save her from the communists if she forms a new government. “I have always favored aid to China under proper circumstances —I am only opposed to it while it is being wasted and spent improperly by unqualified leaders." Chairman Tom Connally, D„ Tex., of the senate foreign relations committee, said he also does not believe that China is “through" only because Chiang left Nanking. Sen. Styles Bridges, R., N. H„ recalled President Truman’s attack on communism in his inaug ural address. “How a man can stand and denounce communism when his administration has just turned China (Turn To I’nue Five) Edward 5. Christen Dies Friday Night Ex-Superintendent Os County Schc '’ r Edward S. Christen, 77. former superintendent of the Adams county schools, and a lifelong resident of Root township, died at 6 o'clock Friday evening at the Adams county memorial hospital after a several months illness of complications. Born in Root township Dec. 13. ! 1871, he was a son of John and ; Catharine Magley-Christen. He began his teaching career at the age of 17 and then graduated from ! Indiana State Normal school at Terre Haute in 1896. He also obtained higher education at Winona college, Indiana university. Ball' State teachers college and Purdue university. Mr. Christen climaxed his 41 years of service in the public' schools as county superintendent from 1914 to 1925. He was a member of the First Presbyterian church of this city, and of the Masonic, Scottish Rite and Shrine lodges. He was married to Fannie Mar low May 30. 1896. Surviving in addition to his wife are two sons. Ellis of Fowler and Ferd o( Chicago; three daughters. Mrs. W. A. Crum of Richmond. Mrs. Naomi Allen of Park Ridge. Hl., and Mrs. C. K. Whistler of Indianapolis: 14 grandchildren: one great-grandchild, three brothers. Gus Christen of Louisville. Ky.. Bert of Toledo. 0.. and Ray of Rome City, and one sister. Mrs. D. B. Uhl of Springfield. O. Three brothers preceded him in death.

Senator Taft Set For Fight To Cut Budget Republican Policy Leader Seeking To Cut Truman Budget Washington, Jan. 22—(UP)— Sen. Robert A. Taft,, Republican policy leader, was set today for a { showdown fight to trim $3,000,000,000 from President Truman's budget and to balk any increase in taxes. Taxes are high enough, the Ohio Republican said. And he thought at least $3,000,000,000 could be sliced from Mr. Truman’s proposed fiscal 1950 budget. The government now takes so much money in taxes, Taft said, that people have lost much of their "power to spend their own money.” In his state of the union message the President requested that congress boost taxes $4,000,000,000. Half of this would come from increased levies on corporations and the other half from higher taxes on the middle and upper income earners. ' Other congressional developments: Labor law—Sen. Claude Pepper, D„ Fla., said he will seek a show down Monday on a bill repealing the Taft-Hartley labor act. Chairman Elbert D. Thomas of the senate labor committee has given a cool reception to Pepper’s showdown idea. Espionage — The Republicans may name a former FBI agent to a Republican seat on the house unAmerican activities committee. He is 38-year-old freshman Rep. Harold H. Velde, Hl. Last fall he appeared as a witness before the committee in its investigation of communists in California. Top house GOP leaders have selected Velde and Rep. Francis Case, R.. S. D., to fill two GOP vacancies on the committee. Electoral College— Sen. Estes Kefauver, D., Tenn., wants a change in the electoral college system “before a national calamity results." Feedlift—The air force promised a final decision before nightfall on the request of Sen. Pat McCarran, I)., Nev., for a “feedlift" to fly fodder to isolated cattle in the snow-blanketed western plains. Rev. Allen Blegen Convention Speaker Radio Pastor Will Be S. S. Speaker The Rev. Allen R. Blegen, president of the Lutheran Bible Instit tute in Chicago, will speak at all i three sessions of the Adams coun- ! ty Sunday school convention Jan- : uary 30 and 31. Rev. Blegen. a nationally known I ’ adio pastor, Bible teacher and i youth leader, has been director of the Lutheran gospel hour ministry ' since 1935 and is heard daily over WAAF. Chicago, and Sundays over I WAIT, besides other radio stations Including HCJB. Quito. Ecuador. The first session of the convention will be held in the Bethany Evangelical United Brethren ' church on Winchester street at 2 o'clock Sunday afternoon. The Sunday evening session will be held in the First Mennonite church at Berne, beginning at 7:2# pm. Monday evening at 6:15, a fellowship banquet will be held in the Berne community auditorium, for all young people. Christian workers and their friends, io be climaxed by the closing address of Rev. Blegen. Vilas Schindler is chairman of the barquet committee. Tickets will be sold for $1 each, and it is requested that all reservations be made before next Thursday. Reservations may be obtained from Miss Dorcas Habegger. (Tara Ta Page Six)

Price Four Cents

Five Men Named By Nationalist Leaders •To Sue For Peace With Communists Nanking, Jan. 22— (UP) —Peiping, ancient capital of the Manchu dynasty in China, surrendered today to communist forces, and the nationalist government stepped up its drive for negotiations to end China's tbree-year civil war. Official sources confirmed earlier independent reports that Gen. Fu Tso-Yi, nationalist commander of besieged Peiping, had surrendered the city to the communist forces under an agreement by which fighting stopped at 10 a. m. today (8 p. m. last night CST) The official sources said that nationalist troops already were' moving out of the ancient walled city. They will be reorganized by communist leaders into a “people's self-defense army." it was said. In Nanking, modern capital of China, the nationalist leaders left in power when Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek went into exile yesterday, surrendering the presidency, named a five-man delegation to sue for peace with the communists. Unofficial but reliable sources said that advance units of the communist hordes driving toward the Yangtze river have reached within 37 miles of Nanking. There seemed to be nothing to check their advance to the great river which splits China from east to west. Nanking stands on the south bank of the river. The reports said that the communist troops driving along the Tientsin-Pukow rail line had reached Fahoci, a little rail town 37 miles northwest of Nanking, and that government troops had begun full-scale evacuation of Chuhsien. 35 miles northwest of the capital, and were falling back to the Yangtze. The official announcement th<t Peiping had surrendered said that a small police force was being left In the city to maintain order as the nationalist troops marched out. The local government is functioning as usual, it was said. Terms of the surrender agreement were not given, but it was presumed that the surrender was unconditional. Unless Fu was given special permission by the communists to return of nationalist territory, the nationalists would lose a man who was regarded as one of their ablest generals, as well as large numbers of troops and great stores of ammunition and supplies. Moving swiftly after Chiang’s self-imposed retirement from the presidency and journey into exile, the government announced officially that Shao LiTze, called China's "grand old man of peace.” would head the group which probably will fly into communist territory to seek peace. Chiang himself was believed to have arrived at Chikiang. the village of his birth, in Fenghua prefecture. on the first stage of a journey that was expected to take him into permanent retirement, probably in Formosa. Vice-president Li Tsung-Jen. to whom Chiang turned over the government when he flew from Nanking yesterday, had been installed as acting president, and it was he who officially announced the forming of the peace delegation. It was believed Shao and pev ’haps his entire delegation would fly into communist-held territory, perhaps to the communist capital of Yenan. seeking to reach Mao Tze-Tung. communist strong man who is called "the Stalin of China " Official Chinese sources say. for publication at least, that they j have no idea where Mao is now, I and foreign sources, including Americans, say the same thing. A formal resolu’ion approving appointment of the delegation was passed by the executive Yuan at | this afternoon's meeting.